Branding and ROI Go Hand In Hand

Great article from OnlineSpin, written by Dave Morgan of Tacoda. I thought I'd pass it along to all you folks ravenously searching for great marketing articles.

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Branding and ROI, Mutually Exclusive?
By Dave Morgan

In the old days of advertising and marketing, people that did branding and people that focused on ROI were polar opposites. They lived on different ends of the world. The former were in the high end of the advertising world, where it was all about sizzle and premium traditional media environments, the latter were in the less glamorous direct marketing world, where it was all numbers, postal rates, telesales and the business of managing lists. Their two worlds couldn't have been more different. The former hung out in glitzy, high visibility places like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, the latter in more remote, subdued locales, with cheaper real estate, labor and data geeks--places like Central Florida.

Most importantly, brand advertisers cared little about measurable sales and ROI. For direct marketers, that was all that they cared about.

No more. These days, all marketers want measurable results related to sales objectives from their advertising and marketing expenditures, particularly online. A big part of this has certainly been driven by the fact that a large portion of early online advertisers were direct marketers. Many think that this focus on measurability will go away as more and more of the traditional brand advertisers show up online. I don't think that will happen. All online advertisers, including those for whom branding is the primary objective, will want more and more ROI measurability. Why do I believe that?

• Inertia requires it. Online ad budgets have to come from somewhere, and something extra is going to be needed to move it. Traditional media are notoriously bad at ROI metrics, so online buyers will look for better measurability there to justify moving the money.

• Sales channels and marketing are becoming more integrated. As the clients' businesses become more integrated and measurable, so must all of their advertising, irrespective of whether it is branding or promotional.

• The corporate game is changing. Sarbanes-Oxley is the new law of the land, and auditors must certify it. They understand numbers, not emotions. They don't care much about the difference between branding and direct response, and they certainly don't understand (or approve) of the fact that branding campaigns frequently bring with them tickets to the Super Bowl or Cannes.

• All media buying is becoming more sophisticated. The reorganization of the media departments into media agencies has brought much more specialization and sophistication and scale to the business. They can now afford and use technologies that can measure things that were only dreamed of before. Their businesses run on very tight margins, so ROI metrics are super critical to them.

• Competition. Publishers are creating and integrating their own proprietary measurement tools and data as competitive differentiators. Many of these are able to deliver detailed ROI metrics. Keeping up with the Joneses--and their order flow--will do much to drive this market.

• Because you can. Online advertising is measurable, and systems now permit high degrees of post-impression sales measurement. Many brand buyers will want it, just because it is available and of interest to them and their clients.

It's no longer a black and white world of branding and direct marketing. The future, I think, will be much grayer, as branding takes on ROI characteristics, and direct marketing, likewise, will probably take on elements of brand advertising. Whatever the outcome, ROI and measurable sales results are here to stay. Branding and ROI are certainly not mutually exclusive anymore.

Dave Morgan is Chairman of Tacoda.

Analysis Paralysis

Hi all - here's an excerpt I was reading from an article written by Jay Conrad Levinson, the father of "guerilla marketing." It was pretty good so I wanted to pass it along. The full article can be read at the link at the bottom of this post.

Garret Ohm
Guerilla Marketer

Guerrillas are never stopped by analysis paralysis. Don’t let it stop you.

Many business owners realize the simplicity of marketing, but just don’t know where they should begin. Analysis paralysis stops them in their tracks. So many tasks. Where to start? So they don’t start. They know what they must do, but don’t really have a plan, so they make disconnected efforts to achieve a hazy goal. When they don’t see encouraging results right off the bat, they lose confidence, if any existed in the first place.

If there’s any correct time to start, it’s right now. If there’s any proper place, it’s right where you are. You’ll never feel you are completely ready, so you may as well begin immediately.

If there’s any secret to be learned, it’s the secret of taking action and never stopping. You’ve heard Diana Ross sing when she was a member of The Supremes. Hear now what she says about taking action: "You can’t just sit there and wait for people to give you that golden dream; you’ve got to get out there and make it happen for yourself."

Guerrillas have learned that the best time to market is when they don’t need any more business. They know that the best source of new clients is old clients and that the best marketing is characterized by quality and not quantity. They realize that their best marketing vehicle, and least expensive, is a satisfied customer. And they know that the two best ways to measure their marketing are by customer retention and by profits, both a part of each other.

The rest of the article can be found here: http://www.gmarketing.com/articles/read/10/

Mobile TV?

For all you hardcore new media followers, here's a new study from The Center for Media Research that talks about Mobile TV - an emerging form of new media that is going to take over the world pretty soon!

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Consumers Want TV At Their Fingertips

According to Telephia, researcher to communications and new media markets, the mobile TV audience grew 45 percent to 3.7 million subscribers in Q2 2006. The third screen allows consumers to get news and information while on the go, with news, weather and sports channels topping the list as the most watched mobile TV content. Total quarterly mobile TV revenues increased to $86 million last quarter, an increase of 67 percent since Q1.

Tamara Gaffney, Director of Product Management, Telephia, says "Mobile TV is the fastest growing wireless data service, ... (with) the potential to be the most important new form of media since the advent of the Internet."

Among all mobile TV users:

• ABC News was the most watched mobile TV channel in Q2 2006, with 40 percent of the total mobile TV audience
• Thirty-two percent of the total mobile TV audience watched The Weather Channel
• Fox Sports was third at 31 percent
• ESPN next with and 29 percent of the mobile TV audience
• Fox News fifth at 22 percent

In terms of access reach, people who watch relative to those who had access to the channel, CNN secured the top spot with 65 percent of mobile TV users. The Weather Channel had the widest distribution with an access rate of 82 percent.

Gaffney added, "...Consumers want television at their fingertips... News and information is the killer app for mobile television..."

Mobile TV Channels by Audience Share
Channel	Share of Total Audience
ABC News	40%
The Weather Channel	32%
Fox Sports	31%
ESPN	29%
Fox News	22%
NBC Mobile News	20%
Comedy Central	16%
AccuWeather	15%
Discovery Kids	15%
Discovery Channel	13%
CNN	12%
E!	12%
Source: Telephia Mobile TV Diary Report, Q2 2006

Mobile TV Channels by Coverage Area Reach
	Access Reach (% of Audience with Access to Channel That Viewed)		Access (% of Total Audience With Access to Channel)
Channel
CNN	65%	18%
ABC News	55%	78%
Fox News	49%	38%
AccuWeather	46%	34%
The Weather Channel	45%	82%
Comedy Central	41%	37%
ESPN	39%	63%
Discovery Channel	32%	37%
Fox Sports	31%	79%
NBC Mobile News	30%	64%
E!	26%	37%
Discovery Kids	25%	30%
Source: Telephia Mobile TV Diary Report, Q2 2006

For more information, visit Telephia here.

Ford Marketing Blunder?

Hi all - I was listening to Howard Stern on Sirius Sattelite Radio yesterday and heard a rather peculiar exchange that made me think, "I have to write about this." It's really more about radio product placement. I've talked about product placement a few times lately, but mostly referring to television or movie product placement. But every now and again, crafty marketers figure out ways to get their products significant coverage on radio as well.

Howard started for some reason talking about the fact that it was about time for him to buy a new car. He was mentioning that he was thinking about buying a truck. A few of the folks on the show mentioned a few trucks to consider and he commented about how he really needed to get on finding a new car. He said he'd never own a General Motors Car (can't blame him!), but other than that, I don't think he had any specific leads on the truck he wanted.

Then, out of nowhere, the screeners put a call through from a woman supposedly from Ford Motor Company. She was all excited to be talking to Howard. She didn't sound too sophisticated, so I'm not sure what her position was with Ford, or even whether she was a dealer. In any event, without hesitation, she offered Howard a free 2 year lease on a brand new Lincoln Navigator.

Now, I don't know about you, but when I heard this, I was completely pissed off. Howard Stern, the man who earned a $500,000,000 5 year contract (no, I didn't add an extra zero accidentally) DOES NOT NEED A FREE CAR. What the hell are they doing offering a half-billionaire a free car? I don't know if many other people were as pissy about this as I was, but I just thought it was ludicrous. There's no way their PR company could have possibly approved this call. At least, I hope not.

Come on, Ford - in your struggles, don't you think you should be doing something positive for the community like giving away cars to homeless shelters or something rather than giving freebies to the ultra-rich? Dumb move. Not that I really ever would, but now I'm DEFINITELY never buying a Ford. Idiots. Even Howard thought it was pretty ludicrous that they were offering him a free car, and promptly turned it down. Kudos Howard - it just goes to show you that your ego has not gotten the best of you.

Product placement gone wrong! Oh, and for all of you folks that don't have Sirius, I highly recommend it.

Garret Ohm

Creative is NOT a Department

Hi all -

Here's an article from Tony Mikes from the Second Wind Network, which is a nationwide network of ad agencies. We're a member of this organization, so we're privy to some pretty good stuff from time to time. I like this article and would like to put it into practice at a much higher level here. It's definitely something to strive for.

Later,

Garret


Creative Is NOT a Department

Last week I did an in-house seminar for one of our members. During a discussion of the agency’s core strengths, one of the account supervisors said to me that she felt the agency would be a lot better if the creative department could actually meet a deadline and bring forth more economical solutions to client’s problems. Just as I was about to answer, a thought occurred to me… as enlightened a thought as I’ve had in the past few years.

“Creative” is not a department. Creative is an agency way of life in the 21st century.

In a recent survey of Second Wind member’s clients, we asked, “What do you want from your agency?” Overwhelmingly, they said, “Ideas. We can do almost anything for ourselves these days what with Google, gaggles of vendors and corporate buying power. What we can’t seem to produce within our corporate culture is ideas.” You see, clients really want creative from agencies. Any agency that believes “creative” is just another department risks losing the ability to satisfy their clients.

How do you turn your department-oriented agency into one big creative entity? It’s easy. Just follow these steps.

1. Meet regularly to discuss the agency’s work. I know one agency that has a corkboard at the rear of the agency and tacks up recently completed work, where anyone can write on the piece and comment about it. At the end of the month they have a meeting to discuss the marked-up work. This is a great incentive for better work.
   
   
2. As you develop your agency’s mission and vision, make sure you include points about being a creative organization.
   
   
3. Don’t limit your creative vision to considering artwork and copywriting as the only creative products in your agency. I sincerely believe there is a tremendous amount of creativity today in media planning, strategic planning and research.
   
   
4. Make a big deal when the agency wins creative awards -- for agency staff and clients. Awards serve almost no practical purpose other than to make your employees and your clients feel good.
   
   
5. Along the same lines, be active in submitting work to the proper creative awards competitions. Nothing succeeds like success.
   
   
6. Make the creative brief sacred in your agency. If everyone knows that your agency will produce a first-class creative brief, your creative product will be better and your staff will have a creative flag to salute. The brief is a very important part of success in the best agencies.
   
   
7. Learn how to brainstorm. The one key is encouragement. In a great brainstorming session, there are no bad ideas, only ideas we don’t accept at the time. If you want to inspire a creative culture in your agency, you’ve got to involve the whole team.
   
   
8. Make your environment creative. What does it hurt to decorate the agency in a creative way? Colors, posters, banners, open space and collaborative areas all inspire your entire organization to be creative, not just the few people in the creative department.

One important caveat: under no circumstances should you add to the natural antipathy that occurs between creative and account service. This single-handedly undermines the philosophy of the whole organization being creative. In fact, as an agency principal, you can help the individuals in these areas see the humor in their differences and use that to the creative advantage of the entire agency.

What’s the benefit of this? In a future where ideas become our only asset, every agency has to become a more creative entity. Get busy getting creative.

Brand Cameo - Product Placement

Hi All -

Check this out - You all know that I love www.brandchannel.com because it talks all about branding, one thing that's very near and dear to our hearts.

But this is a cool feature section that Brandchannel runs. It's called Brand Cameo. It showcases all of the different brands that are featured in the blockbuster movies.

http://www.brandchannel.com/brandcameo_films.asp#234

Garret

Sponsored Download On The Web - Apparently It's Cool With Consumers!

Hi all - Here's a quick blurb from the Center For Media Research. It seems that consumers would rather continue to get free online videos and have to sit through a quick 10-15 second ad, than pay for them! Coolness. I'll be back later with some more marketing insight. Maybe even some local agency updates!

Sponsored Video OK For Three-Fourths of Users Sponsored Download OK For Three-Fourths of Users

According to a telephone poll by the AP and AOL, 71% of U.S. Internet users who watch online video prefer to watch and download videos for free, sponsored by pre-roll advertising, while only 23% said they would prefer to pay for ad-free content.

The poll also reports that

• Users prefer shorter videos
• 20% of those surveyed had downloaded or watched a full-length movie or TV show
• 54% of U.S. Internet users consume video online
• 32% of respondents say they watch more video online than they did a year ago
• 80% say their TV viewing habits remain unchanged

AOL EVP, Kevin Conroy, said "... video usage is growing faster than most predicted... As more and more Web users adopt broadband, demand for online video of all types, including news, music videos and concerts, TV and movies, sports highlights, and user generated video mash-ups will continue to grow at a very fast pace."

The poll, conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs among 1,347 online video watchers in the U.S., found that the top video categories were News, at 72%, and TV or movie clips, at 59%.

Whoa, Long Time No Talkie...

I just realized it's been almost two weeks since I've written anything on here. I cannot get in the habit of not writing, so I'm going to post this article I just read, even though it has NOTHING to do with Baltimore and Washington D.C. area marketing and advertising. NOTHING.

It just makes me happy.

Enjoy:
http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/reviews/rt2602a.shtml

Garret Ohm